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The fourth edition of the London Spanish Film Festival runs from 6 to 20 June 2008. Again this year, the festival offers a selection of the best contemporary Spanish cinema, including many of the titles that triumphed this year or last at Spain’s top festivals - the Goyas (La soledad, Las 13 rosas, Bajo las estrellas) and the Malaga Spanish Film Festival (Amigos de Jesús, El menor de los males) - and several encounters with actors, writers and directors.
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This year’s festival has a special focus on the work of emerging directors like Félix Viscarret (Bajo las estrellas) and Antonio Muñoz de Mesa (Amigos de Jesús). Also included are several examples of what some have identified as a ‘new wave’ in contemporary Spanish cinema – low-key, low-budget indie films dealing with contemporary themes – such as Jaime Rosales’ La soledad, José Luis Guerin’s En la ciudad de Silvia and Yo by Rafa Cortés. Two special previews open and close the festival: thrillers King of the Hill and Fermat’s Room, attended by lead actor Leonardo Sbaraglia (TBC) and directors Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopeña respectively.
Documentary is represented by El honor de las injurias, Carlos García-Alix’ fascinating profile of Felipe Emilio Sandoval (aka Doctor Muñiz), the legendary Spanish robber and man of action who became, during the civil war, an infamous murderer; and by Un lugar en el cine, which interviews Víctor Erice, Theo Angelopoulos and Tonino Guerra on the subject of Neorealism and its legacies. Director Alberto Morais will lead a discussion after the screening.
The retrospective strand is this year dedicated to the late great Spanish actor, director, scriptwriter, novelist and playwright Fernando Fernán Gómez, who died last November. Between his screen debut in 1943 and 2006, Fernán Gómez acted in about 200 films and directed 25; he worked with just about every major Spanish director (including Edgar Neville, Juan Antonio Bardem, Carlos Saura, Víctor Erice, Trueba and Pedro Almodóvar) and won more Goyas than any other person. His life and work are celebrated at the festival with a selection of three films (El mar y el tiempo, Belle époque and Viaje a ninguna parte), the documentary profile La silla de Fernando (by David Trueba and Luis Alegre), and a round table discussion at the Instituto Cervantes.
For the first time this year, the festival includes an evening of silent film with piano accopaniment. Segundo de Chomón is considered one of cinema’s first great masters of optical effects, and the most influential and international Spanish director of the silent period. In 1905 he was the first Spanish filmmaker to use stop-motion techniques; his other innovations include the development of several camera tricks, including optical dissolves and complicated travelling shots. For a special evening on 12 June, pianist Jordi Sabatés will perform his specially-composed piano score to a selection of Chomón’s captivating hand-tinted shorts.
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| Start Date: |
06/06/2008 |
| End Date: |
20/06/2008 |
| Start Time: |
18.15 |
| Region: |
All |
| Venue: |
Cine Lumiere |
| Venue Address: |
17 Queensbury Place, London, SW7 2DT
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| Celebs Attending: |
Alex Brendemuhl, Alberto Morais, David Trueba, Rafael Sanchez Salas, Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopena |
| Website: |
www.londonspanishfilm... |
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| Press Tickets: |
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